California Historical Society Collection, 1860-1960

Title Insurance and Trust and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection 1860-1960

W.N. Monroe, one of the original founders of Monrovia, and his wife in Monrovia, Los Angeles, [s.d.]

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W.N. Monroe, one of the original founders of Monrovia, and his wife in Monrovia, Los Angeles, [s.d.]

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Photograph of W.N. Monroe, one of the original founders of Monrovia, and his wife in Monrovia, Los Angeles, [s.d.]. An elderly man with a plump face in a pinstripe suit waves his hat in the air. His similarly elderly wife, dressed in what appears to be satin and fur, smiles gently out towards the camera. The carriage both are riding in is lined with the American flag. Palm fronds are visible in the background.; W.N. Monroe, Founder of Monrovia, Dies. William Newton Monroe, founder of the city of Monrovia and a pioneer railroad builder, died today at the age of 94 years. Mr. Monroe was one of the early southwest pioneers whose lives were entwined in the fabric of the western expansion of the United States. In 1886 he laid the background for the founding of Monrovia when he purchased 240 acres from the huge ranch of "Lucky" Baldwin, picturesque California turfman. Mr. Monroe's ranch lay along Foothill boulevard. When strangers asked for directions in travel, the answer of the local resident invariably contained: "You go via the Monroe ranch." And so when Mr. Monroe and others laid out the town they affixed the word "via" and called it Monrovia. Born in Lexington, Ind., Mr. Monroe served in the cavalry in the Civil war and then turned westward to find his career. First a contractor for Union Pacific lines west of Omaha, he came to California in 1884 and for 12 years was superintendent of construction of the Southern Pacific. At the turn of the century he spent four years in Mexico building railroads. In 1907 he went to the Klondike gold fields. He built the first Alaskan railroad, a line from Nome to Anvil Creek. Then he retired and returned here to live with his family. Death came to him at the home of a daughter, Mrs. Ann Myrtle Dailey in Monrovia. He leaves another daughter, Mrs. Bruce Dyer of Inglewood. Mrs. Dyer is the mother of "Hec" Dyer, former Stanford sprinter. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. next Saturday in the Baptist church in Monrovia.

Asset Metadata

Title W.N. Monroe, one of the original founders of Monrovia, and his wife in Monrovia, Los Angeles, [s.d.]

Subject Monroe, W. N. (subject), Portraits -- Mo (file heading), roadways (adlf)

Tags OAI-PMH Harvest

Place California (states), Los Angeles (counties), Monrovia (city or populated place), USA (countries)

Type images

Format 2 photographs : photonegative, photoprint, b&w ; 21 x 26 cm. (aacr2), negatives (photographic) (aat), photographic prints (aat), photographs (aat)

Source California Historical Society (contributing entity), California Historical Society Collection, 1860-1960 (collection), Title Insurance and Trust, and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection, 1860-1960 (subcollection)

Publisher University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Repository Email specol@lib.usc.edu

Repository Name USC Libraries Special Collections

Repository Location Doheny Memorial Library, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189

Rights Public Domain. Please credit both “University of Southern California. Libraries” and “California Historical Society” as the source. Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library.

Copyright Public Domain. Please credit both “University of Southern California. Libraries” and “California Historical Society” as the source. Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library.

Access Conditions Send requests to address or e-mail given

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/chs-m17815

Identifier 6657 (accession number), CHS-6657 (call number), CHS-6657 (filename), chs-m265 (legacy collection record id), chs-c65-17800 (legacy record id), chs-m17815 (legacy record id), USC-1-1-1-13906 (legacy record id), 1-69-8 (microfiche number), 1-90-428 (microfiche number), USC (project)

IIIF ID [Document.IIIFV3ID]

DM Record ID 17800

Unique identifier UC113202

Legacy Identifier CHS-6657.tiff

Type Image

Internet Media Type image/tiff

Resolution 18.0 in × 14.3 in at 300dpi
45.9 cm × 36.4 cm at 300dpi

Inherited Values

Title Title Insurance and Trust and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection 1860-1960

Description The nearly 15,000 unique photographs of this collection contain the work of C.C. Pierce which cover the Los Angeles region city, street and architectural views, California Missions, Southwestern Native Americans, and turn-of-century Nevada, Arizona, and California. Pierce, active from 1886 to 1940, was one of the leading photographers of his day and amassed a collection of 15,000 images, including his own and those bought and copied from his contemporaries, George Wharton James and Charles Puck. The James collection contains over 2,000 images of portraits, customs, ceremonies, arts, and games of various groups of Southwestern Native Americans.

Date Created 1860/1960

Linked assets

Title Insurance and Trust and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection 1860-1960

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